Zoilo Versalles, 55, Shortstop Who Was Mr. Baseball in 1965

By ROBERT McG. THOMAS Jr.

Published: June 12, 1995

Zoilo Versalles, the slick-fielding, Cuban-born shortstop who led the Minnesota Twins to their first American League pennant in 1965 and became the first Latin American player to be named most valuable player, was found dead at his home in suburban Bloomington, Minn., on Friday. He was 55.

After an inconclusive autopsy Saturday, a spokesman for the county medical examiners office in Minneapolis said lab tests had been ordered to determine the cause of death.

Versalles, a native of Havana, joined the Washington Senators organization as a teen-ager, followed the team to Minneapolis in 1961 and became an All-Star in 1963, but his 1965 season was more than one for the record books.

It was a shining memory that helped sustain him as his career and life went into a long decline.

As the leadoff hitter on a team that included the slugging likes of Harmon Killebrew, Tony Oliva, Bob Allison, Jimmie Hall and Don Mincher, Versalles, urged on by Billy Martin, the team's third-base coach, was the undisputed star.

His .273 batting average was hardly spectacular, and he led the league with 122 strikeouts, but he tended to get hits when the team needed them, and he often hit for power, or seemed to, anyway, as he used his speed to stretch singles into doubles. He led the league in doubles (45) and triples (12) while hitting 19 home runs, driving in 77 runs and leading the league in runs scored (126).

Coupled with his Gold Glove efforts in the field, his performance made him a near-unanimous selection as the league's most valuable player. He received 19 of the 20 first-place votes in the balloting by baseball writers, swamping his nearest rival, his teammate and friend, Oliva, the batting champion, who received the other first-place vote.

Versalles continued his stellar play in the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. He broke open the first game with a three-run home run and he led his team with eight hits, a .286 average and four runs batted in over the full, seven-game series. But that was not enough. The Dodgers, down two games to none, came back to win four of the next five games to capture the title.

Versalles, whose salary was doubled to $40,000 the next season, went into an immediate and sustained decline. He was traded to the Dodgers in 1968, split the 1969 season between the Cleveland Indians and a new Washington Senators franchise, then played a year in Mexico before joining the Atlanta Braves for a final, dismal season in which his batting average declined to .199.

His career average for 12 major league seasons was .242, with 95 home runs.

After playing a season in Japan in 1972, Versalles returned to the Minneapolis area but found it virtually impossible to make a living, partly because he had never learned to read or write English and partly because of the lingering effects of a back injury he suffered while running out a ground ball with the Dodgers in 1968.

He held a series of menial jobs, but lost his house to foreclosure and was eventually forced to sell his m.v.p. trophy, his All-Star rings and his Gold Glove award.

In addition to his back problems he suffered two heart attacks and underwent stomach surgery.

In recent years he had been sustained by disability payments, Social Security and memories of a season that came only once.

Versalles, who was separated from his wife, Maria, is survived by six daughters and several grandchildren.